Une Envie de Sel

A New Simple Something! has been making the most beautiful flower collages for blog friends this week, and today she made me the loveliest peony one! Thoroughly brightened my day when I got up this morning and found a note in my in-box.

Peony is, without a doubt, either my favorite or definitely my second or third favorite flower on the face of the earth (depending on the day). But it's probably my first favorite. On most days. These are the ones that grew in my own garden this summer, and thanks to the unusually wet weather, they are even shaggier and more lush and voluptuous than most years.
And this our first rose...many, many, many more soon to come! Withing the next couple of days, I fear, they will have proliferated to the point that you won't be able to glance South down our street without squinting. This photo is not enhanced...our roses are just ridiculously, luridly bright. If I knew the first thing about roses I might be able to tell you what this one is, but I know nothing. These grow without any help from me save my trimming them (at arm's length and with great, sweeping gestures, since they are lethal if allowed any closer) when they threaten to reach over and pull the roof shingles off of our house (which they do about once a year). Our roses are almost obscenely healthy, considering that we tend to them not at all.
My peonies from another angle. (Would you like to see more? I have more. I'm just a tad obsessed with my peonies.)
And this beautiful purple-and-sunset Iris (again, I couldn't even dream of telling you its proper name) that was given to us by my mum last year.